


Rockstars Are All Romantics

by Ris84



Category: To All the Boys I've Loved Before Series - Jenny Han, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 04:45:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18909832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ris84/pseuds/Ris84
Summary: 15 years have gone by - are Lara Jean and Peter still the same?





	Rockstars Are All Romantics

May 15, 2034, 5:00 am. Toronto, Ontario

Lara Jean's alarm goes off; first one short beep and then the next song on her playlist. She groans and rolls onto her back. Stairway to Heaven plays. She listens to it for a moment, staring at the ceiling hand her right hand raised to the pillow under her head; she plays with the corner of the pillowcase. Willing herself to get up she stretches the muscles in her calves. When the guitar solo hits she sits up, wiping the sleep from her eyes in the same movement.  
"Okay Lara Jean," she says to herself "no more procrastinating"  
She pads her way to her adjoining master bathroom, tugging open her blinds as she passes the window. Ophelia by the Lumineers plays; she brushes her teeth bouncing to the cheerful beat, trying to pump herself up for the day.  
She does her morning routine. Shower, hair, minimal makeup, puts on clothes carefully ensuring no transfer of her makeup, with efficiency that is born from repetition.  
She goes downstairs; it's now minutes to six. She opened the fridge she takes out some yogurt and frozen berries and also reconfirms that she made lunch last night. Sometimes weekends can get away from her.  
She makes two shakes, one poured into a travel mug that has a bright blue straw, the other into a tall glass. She rinses down the blender and puts back the remaining ingredients.  
Going back upstairs, she turns off the speaker cutting off Dallas Green's melodic voice. Opening the bedroom door on the other side of the floor she looks around. The dresser is neat, everything in its place in ninety-degree angles. The floor, however, is covered in sweat pants, socks, and books. Sighing, she approached the bed. A pale foot sticks out from under the white comforter.  
She places the glass on the side table and opted to tickle the foot. It immediately pulls back and disappears under the blanket.  
"No." a muffled deep voice can be heard, voice gruff and deep from sleep.  
"Danny", she says in a slight pleading tone. The tone also tells that this is going to be a conversation they've had before. "I know you have practice this morning and LOSSA later. Brandy's mom will drive you guys back. Could you please clean up this room before I get home?"  
Danny ran track and field, and his regional competition was today.  
"Noooo" the voice replies, still muffled by the comforter. Lara Jean always marvels at his ability to breathe under the heavy material. She could never do that.  
"Danny I have to go. I need to know you're up. I'm not ubering you to another meet because you missed the bus" Lara Jean says.  
He sighs hard enough that there is a puff of air that pushes up the comforter on the spot where his mouth is.  
Sitting up and pushing his comforter down, he looks at her like she doused him with a three-pound bag of ice.  
Not entirely out of the question, she thought.  
Danny is not a morning person, giving her a resigned expression, "I'm up" he says to her in a dry tone.  
She looks at him. His hair is a messy bedhead look that she knows he will recreate after he showers. His amber colored eyes, full eyebrows, hair, cheekbones, skin tone, and nose are all his dad. His smile is 100% Song-Covey. His voice is deeper than any man on either side of the family and standing at 5'11 at the age of 14, it was possible he was going to end up being as tall as her father. He was at that age where some times he showed cracks of the adult he was going to become but he was happy to remain to be a carefree child. She was happy for him to continue being that child too.  
"I have physiotherapy at 6:30 pm, Mom. And then dinner with Uncle Max. I won't be home before you." Danny says and reaches over to take the shake "and really the 60-year-old music first thing in the morning was a bit much. How is that part of your wake up playlist? I need to edit your playlists"  
"You will do no such thing." She said leaning forward and kisses his cheek "I forgot Uncle Max is in town. Send him my love. I have to go. Lunch and snacks are packed. Don't forget to take your water bottle. You will kick ass today. Run like the wind. Remember to stretch and cool down"  
"Have fun at your orientation Mom!" He called out to her as she went down the stairs.  
"Thank you!" she hollers back.  
Jumping into her older model Ford Edge, she cranks up the air conditioning, it was warm for this time of year, and she had no intention of sweating. She gives herself a moment, once she gets in allowing her phone to pair with the car. Checking her blind spot she backs out. She's got more than enough time to get to the training center that is on the outskirts of town. Remembering one more thing she calls back her son.  
"Danny! I forgot to remind you to take –" she was quickly cut off by him.  
"Cookies mom. Yeah, I know. Thanks" he answered.  
"Okay... love you," she said and they disconnect.  
She drives listening to music, occasionally tapping her hand on the steering wheel, as she sang along.  
Her phone rang. The name Asher, her ex, shows on the console. Taking a big breath she accepted the call.  
"Hi Ash," she said softly. Asher wore his heart on his sleeve. Her time with him taught her a lot about the power one human's expression or words has on another. She's learned over the last 20 years that she needs to read the crowd; conversations with her ex are no different.  
"LJ!" his voice came out crisp, bright, happy and awake. "First I want to wish you well on your first day at your new role! You're going to kick ass and take names!"  
She rolled her eyes and checked to make sure she could safely change lanes "My first day was 6 weeks ago, Asher. They're just forcing us into a mandatory orientation for new hires and transfers like me."  
"Oops!" he said, Lara Jean could hear the gears turning in his head "okay so LJ what I was going to ask is if we can change the timing Danny is with me for the summer. We've got a boat delivery coming up and I want to take him down with us, then rent a car and drive back up the coast"  
Asher always had big ideas. Half the time they were terrible, but sometimes they were amazing.  
"Depend on the dates Ash. Haven's wedding is this summer. Both Danny and I are supposed to be there" she replied, "send me the dates and let's see if we can make it work. "  
"Didn't she just get married?" he asked.  
"Two years ago. It was annulled." Lara Jean replied, the unspoken part of ‘you shouldn't be surprised' is clear in her tone.  
"Right." The one word is laced with so much meaning. "You Song girls are always breaking hearts"  
Lara Jean physically recoils at that comment, his quip makes her feel like she needs to say something "Ash…"  
He laughs "Oh I don't mean it that way, Lara Jean! I swear!"  
He clears his voice "Okay so Max is having dinner with Danny tonight. I'll make sure he doesn't say anything about the possible trip until we hash out the details. Have a good day at your orientation. Love you!"  
"Thanks, Ash." She said back "Love you too"  
It took Lara Jean and Asher for many years to get to this point. Where they could be supportive and work as a strong team raising their son together. It was difficult; Asher's family business was a boat dealership. He had taken over, so his father could retire. This meant that he was often at their other retail locations in different provinces or delivering boats. They were constantly juggling their plans, revising calendars to ensure that Danny didn't feel like he was being given the fuzzy end of the lollypop.  
She was grateful for the business though, it gave Danny a great lifestyle. She met Asher at UNC, after breaking up with her high school sweetheart before the start of sophomore year. Her roommates' boyfriend was on the wrestling team and she found herself having lunches and dinners with them and other wrestlers.  
Asher was a Canadian on a wrestling scholarship. He said that he chose UNC because he wanted to experience life before heading into his predestined one. He knew that once he was finished with university the next step would be to carry on working at the family business.  
They bonded over the early loss of their moms, his passing when he was nine years old, after a long battle with cancer, and her mother's tragic accidental death. And the strong bond of siblings, his brother Max was the most supportive person she's ever met. He'd cheer you on like you were his blood or he had something invested in your success. No matter what.  
After Peter and she had called for a cooling down, realizing that they were pulling away, Lara Jean found it difficult enjoying her time at UNC. Peter and she still spoke, texted, and facetimed. But they both were a lot more reserved than they use to be. This is what they expected when they called off their relationship, but it was still a difficult process to go through.  
Asher would appear. His room was on the floor above hers in their dormitory, he would escort her to dinner regularly. Telling corny jokes, goading her to participate in stupid events, Asher was a great support.  
One day after a particularly rough set of classes, she sat in the lounge waiting for anyone to appear so she could have company for dinner when she decided to scroll thru Instagram. Picking her favorite hashtag – baking - she hoped to find something that would give her inspiration to bake something this weekend.  
Her dorm had 2 stoves, that was mostly underused by the residents as they all were forced to have meal plans.  
That's when she saw it. Genevieve. In his bed. It was clear it was a recent picture. She could make out the tattoo on his shoulder that he only got a few months ago. The image of a phoenix was visible on his right shoulder as his familiar muscled back was displayed and white sheets pooled around his hips as he slept. His eyes were closed hair mussed the way it did when he slept. And Gen. Gen tucked in beside him.  
She thought about sending him a screenshot of the image, looking for an explanation. But what would be the point? He was doing nothing wrong. It's not his fault it felt like someone was cutting off her oxygen. Gen, using an account that she didn't recognize, tagged baking on the post to ensure she saw the evidence of their reunion. The message was clear. It was time to move on. She took a screenshot, so she could torture herself with it later.  
She knew, logically that he would have moved on. The calls would be less and less. The love they shared would fizzle out. But she didn't think this was how it would happen. When it came to them, she often chose to just not think. It was the best way, she learned, to handle relationships.  
Staring at the image - it made her throat hurt, her eyes sting - she made a decision. It was time Lara Jean lived for herself. She blocked Peter in every possible avenue she could recall; Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, email, text, call- the whole enchilada. A clean break was the only way Lara Jean was going to get over Peter Kavinsky.  
Asher was the first person to come into the room. He could tell that she was upset, and opted to distract her.  
"My dear Lara Jean." Asher said as he clapped his hands together once, loudly "We are eating high protein tonight because you and I are hitting the bars!"  
And it went on from there. That friendship eased her pain. After one particularly silly night out, getting caught in the cold rain when they chose to walk home from a bar, where he attempted to reenact Gene Kelly's iconic dance from Singing in the Rain. Something that his 5'9 bulky body and lack of coordination due to the amount of alcohol he drank failed miserably in the most amusing way. She laughed so hard, her sides hurt, as he led her in a dance on the sidewalk. Spinning her, he pulled her in and kissed her. Their relationship was organic after that. It just worked.  
They were intimate pretty quickly in the relationship. Birth control was used, but she still ended up being pregnant six months in.  
Her dad was disappointed. He wanted her to have her life first. Finish school. Travel. Party.  
Margot was angry. She knew that she should have known better. Been more careful.  
Kitty was smitten with the idea of being an aunt.  
Asher proposed, making the effort to make it romantic, although she knew a heavy dose of the reason for the proposal was him thinking he was doing what's right. She accepted, partially for the same reason he asked. Asher's family, apparently weren't just boat sellers, they were judges and lawyers who were well connected. He never spoke about the connections before they got engaged.  
They coordinated her acceptance to University of Toronto – even without asking her to request the transfer, because ‘we want to help every way possible, but you don't need to take this opportunity' – according to her soon to be Aunt-in-law. Asher had a house near campus, he said it was bought when he was in high school, a bank foreclosure that he and his brother thought they were going to live in together before he got the offer to UNC. It was a different world for Lara Jean, she never realized how well off Asher was until the ball started rolling on the changes in her life. Asher and Lara Jean sat and worked out the pros and cons, writing it on a lined paper in a spiral notebook. The memory of writing out a contract would tickle the back of her mind, but the feeling of the baby that floated in her womb often canceled out the thoughts of another romance. The decision was made, they would move to Canada.  
Margot thought she was crazy and made sure she told her. But Lara Jean could only think that "Maybe this is my love story, Go-Go. "  
He was born, Daniel Song Asher Reid. She named him after her father, who cried when she handed the baby to him, announcing his name as they sat in the hospital.  
Danny was an interesting baby. He hated to sleep for more than four hours at a time even though they had child care in the day, Asher and Lara Jean found it hard to be students and young parents. Asher opted to drop full-time classes and took his courses as part-time classes instead.  
"I don't really need a degree, Lara Jean"  
They married shortly before Danny's first birthday. It was a small affair, getting married at Asher's family ski cabin, that sat on several acres of untouched forest. Margot caught the bouquet after Chris pushed her forward.  
"I can't be with you if you don't love me, Lara Jean"  
Separation took place when he was two. The divorce took a while afterward and only came up when Asher ended up in a serious relationship and they realize how it looked.  
It took time for them to figure out what life post-divorce looked like. How to not be angry when they asked the other to watch Daniel for the night because they had dates, and how to return to being friends like they did before that fateful rainy night.  
Eventually, they made it work. They found a rhythm and balance that worked for them. Lara Jean built a life in Toronto. Visiting occasionally and having her family visit, texts, phone calls, and facetime kept her from being completely homesick  
Danny grew, now a freshman at his local high school, he quickly made sure he was a part of the track and field team. Lara Jean swore he never learned to walk, he went straight to running.  
She was content with her life right now. Good job. Great son. Good friends.  
Pulling into the parking lot of the training center she parked and turned off her car. Reaching to her purse she pulled out her work cell and read and responded to emails while she drank her smoothie. She got the job as a Manager in the Corporate Communications department, focusing on internal projects and announcements at a large bank. If anyone told teenage her that adult Lara Jean would be living in Canada working for a bank. She would think they were nuts. She always imagined she would have become a baker or something independent and creative.  
She didn't get to be too creative in her new role. Mostly because she was bound to use the corporate standards that were legally vetted. But she still baked here and there. Occasionally taking orders for birthday cakes and other semi-special occasions. It kept her busy.  
Checking the time, she realized she needed to get into the building in the next few minutes or she wouldn't be able to sit up front.  
Checking in and walking to the appropriate room, she noticed the sign reminding people to turn their phones on mute. Digging into her purse to put her personal phone on mute, she caught a glimpse of a person heading down the hall where people could use rooms to take calls. Something about the movement seemed familiar.  
She shakes it off. She's not the only person who has worked at this company for years but can't get out if this activity. It likely is another colleague she's passed at the office.  
She grabs a cup of coffee and puts some fruit on a plate from the buffet table and grabs a seat at the front of the room.


End file.
